' The progreffive* geography of this quarter of the globe might afford
an important an^!|||ie^ÿling'fubjeft of if treated "ht due
length* as, embracing the.various difeoveries whic^, at 'longvinteryals1 of
.time,’ fuccefftvely difdofedits vaft extent. The moft authemîcdnfyrrna-
tion concerning the-knowledge of the anciepts, r§x to be found' in the
geography of Ptolemy ; but modern commentators differ ip ,thte elucidation
of his text. The extreme points of difeovery mentioned -by
Ptolemy are, toypyds the Indian Ocean, the tovpn pf Sina ; and4 inland,
in tlie parallel of M fouth of the Cafpian, Sera, the metropolis « g .the
Seres. That able geographer D’Anville has exprefled his'opiritpnj cob*
cerning' Siria, in the following terms t
“ The ônéhtàl geographers, to whom the country of the Sfnes muft
have been well hnoyra, jcbmprife its capital hi' the1 zone ÔiTh’ë'firft cli-i
mate ; which riling to twenty degrees and a half does not extend >to
China : but-by an extravagant error Sinarum Metroft’àIis%a.d been applied
to Nan-kin in tiré, thirty-fécond degree. The impérial ranktaf
the iaft mentioned city, to whichit-did not attain till towards the-eloife
of the fourth century, cpuldrnot have caufed it, to be thus diftingnilhed
by Ptolemy, who, lived under the. Automnes*: about twp-j.ag.es (-before/
The Chincfe do not acknowledgejthe name that wehave g^ypn^ojjth.eic
nation. They are fond o f borrowing for the pnrpofe’ bf diftinâioh,
tile name of fome dynafties, whofe memory is precious to them«- and
above all, from that of , Han, which commenced two hundred andt’fofhe ,
years before the Chriftian æra, they denominate themfelyes fiafi-hgih,
COLONIES FROM ASIA.
III. ^ c y th îâ n s 1 of Goths
: .
IV . Sarmats or Slavons
(Perunjf -
Icelanders, -Norwegians.
Swedes, Danes. .
Germans. ' . Swifs, Frific."!
Englifh. Flemilh, Dutch;
Poles. - - x-a ’ • : Heruli.
Rnffians. . i Vendi.
Koffacs. Lettes,
The inhabitants of France, Italy, and, Spain are alfo of Aliatic origin ; and fpeak corrupted
Roman, which, like the Greek, is a polifhed dialedt pf the Gothic, according to. Sir, William
Jones, and other able antiquaries. ] The Heruli, Wends, and Lettes, ufed mixed and imperfedt
dialeas of the Slavonic. Critical Review, vol. xxvii. p. 129.
or
or the .people' bf Han; and bjt>anJd§a> yjhi,c-h they haye of the rnoft
advanugeohsvfiuiation^their'- qafubtry,, they, name it ^ojjon-koue or
the middle, kingdom - is prefervpd in thy*, of
GoShithChina; which, withqiahe^qpvth at it has differed op the
part.of Europeans, is The th a^^ound the,aftne
ng»W i n, that - knew the £iqe§.|U|phf', namCip|
Sijigh whhhxthmfodians |||B B SB
^i^as^fewed t^^rpgpfs 'qfj$aylg;||fou^
'trufidmit^ofthe aiKi#pfi0§$u.n^ by,
tjle^.i’ol'Wgu^fg,- who.; pre^edfedt'y7^fte^ii!,pa.t?ions, ip, theft re-
^ipt^l^^^d^yand become «ompiq^^if ^tji^^wlpch
jAfidii^ . t b e ^ e o i i p t r y ^ ^ |
China,"- asUL appears,, in alhthe.maps^hip^ ^veprec^ded tli^e^of jh^_
authorjbf <tjh& preftnt, vf&rk,i i§<,anfartic-l(e ;in,ancient 4geography, yshich
may juftify the'foregoingdifep^on. . I
J y The,capital of the Smqs Js? patn^d,{T f e y ^ o b l l ? nd'#c“'
cqr,d#g;to-&& Latin I verfion,-, ^;|t?
ppfitipq> appears>at a" diftaqcefihom %£,%, J ^ tje ftmputh of.a, river
camedu'jPpUaris^.jxpviqg^lpt^u^i^ipp^pglh^l^t; j^to^nqthe.r, river,
whq|h, name * w ^ § e p j i g * v ^ S h W *
riv?r ,pfCambojp; which, eighty,l^gy^s ,^ove mouth^dmdes, into
two branches. jThg principal,. ,or th^tjpf the ngh^,4corfe|on|ling with,
Ihei Conans, and which is (called, ,thp Maqe%fiy^^p4^asij.o .a city
of wKibh-theArahian gepgraphers.jfpqajc as being-yery^Mmted^or- ,its
tomtherce under the name’of Loukin-; and this pofition appears tp
Mwef «o:that ofi Thins in Ptolemy. But :the;ciby qf thq^fis,yiaEB^
-Sih by the Arabian geographers, and in jthe Chia£fe(,ipenlqirS Tehen-;
teheh, is a ipolitiw more. ISmot8 lhan Loukin, and is/ found,diftm-
Ruilhed by.the name of_ §i&b,cta; as hayin^been.the moft foundling
city of Cochin-China, -before % t,p9rt,vas'deftrqyed by alluvions-tof
fand i The name of Thoah-hoa, jwhwfe^s diftrid,.bears, fdems, together’with!
the other circumftances repprtpd, to,favour tfe application, of
the name ef Tljinae to this city alfo. Thin* is mentioned diverfely i f
many authors'of antiquity. But what cannot have a place here g p
' 14 be